


A Round of Matchmaking, Anyone?

by mxnotmrdarcy



Category: The Get Down (TV)
Genre: Feelings, Fluff, M/M, Matchmaking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:57:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9231845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxnotmrdarcy/pseuds/mxnotmrdarcy
Summary: Zeke and Shao know they're in love, right? Ra-ra and Dizzee will make sure of it.





	1. I never said

**Author's Note:**

> Posted originally with a different name and then things happened. Here it is, to stay this time.

Shao and Ra had fallen into a rhythm. With Zeke gone so much they had grown closer. Ra had started hanging out at the temple with Shao—looking for some time away from the family, some space, some breathing room. He was often found sprawled on a couch, reading a comic book while Shao spinned records.

They didn’t have as many verbal sparring matches anymore, mostly just a quiet respect with their general nonsense thrown in. Shao talked with Ra about the nightmares that he would never admit to having. Ra sometimes talked about what was actually going on behind the doors of the Kipling home.

Shao came over to Ra who was lying on the couch, no comic book in sight. “So, what version of that space princess are you in love with today?” he asked, looking to get a rise or response of some kind out of Ra. He didn’t say anything. Normally, he’d end up telling Shao which comic book said which insightful thing and why it’s super important to everything. Or he would say that he needed somewhere to avoid his dad, or sister, or brother (s) for a while.

Today, nothing.

“Aight Ra, what’s wrong?” Shao asked, easily hopping over and onto the sofa next to Ra “Now, y’know I don’t actually want any details about your space princess fantasy of the day...”

“I followed D last night. He’s been telling our folks that he’s with us but he never is anymore. I was curious. He met some white dude in the train yards.”

“Whatever-the-fuck his name was, Thor?”

“I think so.”

“Wait, the one who took him to that weird-ass party a while back?”

After the party in Soho, Dizzee had only told the Get Down Brothers about meeting a friend, a fellow bomber, and about the superhero pill. Oh, and the girl. His description of the partygoers was along the lines of “free people being free” with just enough nuance there for them to get the lack of firm identities without actually telling them about his experiences with Thor.

“So, I think I’m wondering, what with Dizzee’s new superpower of “seeing all the connections,” what’s his connection with Thor?” Ra wondered aloud.

“Iunno, why don’t you ask him?”

“I recognized that connecting bond that fuels the best teams, the best partners.” Ra said.

“What do you mean, Ra?”

“I mean, that intense look people can get when they’re meeting someone they’re damn near obsessed with, in love with, connected with. Y’know?”

Shao stared at Ra blankly. This was starting to move into uncomfortable territory for him, but he wasn’t about to let anyone know that.

Ra continued, “Zeke does it all the time. Looking intensely, smiling a bunch, even if he’s trying to hide it, being closer as soon as he enters the room, that kind of thing.”

“Yeah yeah yeah. I don’t want to hear about his goddamn Butterscotch Queen” Shao said, pulling his hat down to cover his eyes. Shao sounded much more upset than he had intended. He wasn’t sure why, but anytime people talked about her he got upset in a way he didn’t get any other time.

Ra ignored Shao’s comments for the time being. “Zeke beams when he gets like that. Haven’t you noticed? His grin gets as big as possible and his eyes shine and he damn near bounces over.”

“I fucking said don’t talk about that bitch.”

Ra shrugged, getting off the couch and walking towards the door. Shao watched, not saying anything in the sudden silence.

As he got to the door, Ra said “I never mentioned Mylene, by the way.”

“Ra, who else—“

“You already know, Shao.”


	2. Sparrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dizzee talks with Zeke

“Hey Zeke, you got a sec?” Dizzee poked his head around the corner. Zeke was sitting on a low reddy-brown couch next to the dj booth.

"Sure D, what's going on?" Zeke asked, looking up from his notebook confused as to why the older boy was seeking him out instead of his brothers. In fact, D had never sought Zeke out before. They really didn't talk outside of rehearsal, and even then they didn’t really. 

Dizzee took in the quiet for a moment. They had the palace to themselves. Shao was out on a record hunt for Grandmaster Flash and the younger Kiplings were off somewhere with air conditioning. It was rarely this quiet here, peaceful and frozen in time. Now, though, he broke the silence with questions and an air of glowing uncertainty. He sat across from Zeke, clearly with his head at least partially in the clouds. The empty space of the practice area felt like a desert, with the shine of the wooden floors mirages. 

Missing only about half a beat to the weirdness, Dizzee dove in. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So, I've been tagging with this guy, and it's like we fly through the colors and before we know it we have an entire piece sketched and filled in and we're soaring and then the piece is done and we land and then it's just us in the quiet." Dizzee said, all at once. Trying to find the words to describe the feeling that he had with Thor was half the reason he was here. Just half. The other half was getting Zeke to find those words for himself.

Zeke had no idea what was going on. He leaned forward slightly, making it clear that he was listening even if the almost eerie quiet of the almost empty palace let Dizzee's voice echo a heartbeat too long down the corridors. 

Dizzee continued, "So, I was wondering, is that the same kind of feeling you have when you're rhyming? Like, what is it?"  
"Yeah, I mean, I guess. Why?" Zeke was curious. He definitely felt that with Shao, flying around each other, merging into one cohesive movement. Arrive and depart. Together. Spinnin’ and grinin’. He wasn't about to describe the depth of that connection to Dizzee though. Not during their first real conversation.

"Well, we hang out, and that's... not the only time we feel like that. It's like, we're hovering outside of time and space and existing as pure energy and time is a construct"

"We? You know it's, uh, mutual?" Zeke pried. He leaned forward.  
"We haven't talked about it, but I can feel us in the quiet moments." Dizzee said, watching the afternoon fade into evening, the light dimming in the room.

"The world falls away." Zeke said, clearly and with emotion, looking at the dj booth unconsciously. 

"I get that. What do you feel when the world falls away?" Dizzee asked.  
"Well, like a bird coasting on a summer breeze, with just one other with me, not a flock or anything like that. Like two birds on a summer's breeze. Why?" Zeke caught himself staring at the boarded up window, as if there were actual birds there.  
"Two birds?"  
"Well yeah, the world only falls away when I'm with—someone." Zeke catches himself. The world falls away with Mylene, too.

"So, I tag with a 'someone'." We switch sketching and painting since we're both bombers but can only work on one piece at a time. Combined we make things brighter than either of us had either dreamed, deep in the tunnels." Dizzee avoided saying Thor's name or any pronouns. He figured he should tell Ra about Thor first, once he figured out what was happening himself. 

He didn’t realize that Zeke caught on to the fact that D called Thor “a guy” right away, and Zeke knew that this wasn't the time. Instead he just said,"That's intense, D."

"Yeah, it’s like we catch a glimpse of the universe for a minute." Dizzee started to relax his posture, sitting upright and leaning against the back of the couch.

Zeke shifted forward again, knowing he could allude to things without it being the discussion around the Kipling dinner table or the salon. Even so, Zeke hesitated, "Dizz, do you ever get lost in it?" Zeke thought of the days where Shao had to be reminded to drink water because they had been working all day, spinnin' and grinnin'. All the little moments. The sudden clarity that day on the roof. Zeke refocused on Dizzee.

"All the time. I want a word for how I'm feeling, so I figured it was time for a trip to Mr. Thesaurus." Dizzee tried to turn the conversation to a lighter ground. He wanted the high from being with Thor to last a bit longer, and trying to describe that high was a bit more grounding than expected. "Zeke, I've known my someone forever and for a few weeks.”

"I feel like there are a thousand words for it, that connection of souls that mirrors the best symphony. The ebb and flow of feeling, sensation, familiarity and connection." Zeke tried to get the words to flow. He was here to work on writing because he had major writer's block, after all. He had spent the better part of the afternoon sprawled in various positions on the couch, scrambling across the floor following his pencil more than once Describing the deep connection he had with Shao was difficult without the older boy standing there, one with the dj booth or sprawled on a couch or sitting almost-too-close to Zeke.

“Is the bird with you on the breeze riding the ebb and flow or more directing it?"  
Zeke heard the implication. Mylene directed any flows, she was going to be a disco star and no one would stand in her way and no breeze would go the wrong direction. Shao and Zeke created and glided on the breeze. Ebb and flow.

"Okay, one more question and then I'm gonna go grab dinner before I go work on a piece." Dizzee paused, wondering how Zeke would take this. "Who’s your second sparrow?"

Zeke smiled, not answering. "And on that note, I'll see you at practice tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, tomorrow." Dizzee got up and crossed the room.

“Hey, Zeke?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Thanks.” Dizzee disappeared around the corner, praising himself for a job well done and daydreaming of a new piece-- sparrows.


	3. Summer Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shao and Zeke recap the events of the day.

Zeke was waiting for Shao on the hood of his car. The car wasn’t impressive like Malibu’s old Cadillac, but it ran and was good enough to hang out and talk, smoke, whatever. Ever since Shao got the car, the two of them had started spending even more time together. He knew the older boy would be out soon; they always talked through new battles before going over them with the crew. 

Zeke saw Shao’s ray of light of a smile as a similarly intense grin formed on his own face. Shao noticed what was happening even as he settled close to Zeke on the hood.

“What are you smiling about?” Shao said, teasing.

“What, I can’t smile at you now?” Zeke had his weight on the arm closest to Shao and looked straight at him.

“I never said that”, Shao said leaning closer to Zeke, who moved almost imperceptibly closer. Neither boy closed the distance or moved a muscle for what seemed like an hour. Sitting on top of the car in the sun and so close to each other, both boys began to sweat.

“Dizzee really knows what he’s talking about,” Zeke said, amused, breaking the tension of silence but still not moving.

“What?” Shao said, confused. He pulled away slightly, blinking into the evening sun.

“He uh, sort of implied that we might...well, that we’re two birds in a summer breeze, spinnin and grinnin.” Zeke said without looking at Shao for more than a couple seconds, suddenly a bit worried.

“Ra implicated that same idea at me this afternoon too.” Shao paused, debating telling Zeke Dizzee’s personal business. He figured since Zeke already knew something that it wouldn’t be a breach of privacy. He knew what it’s like to not want to share some things with the group. Zeke didn't move a muscle. Why would Ra go to Shao about this and not him? Zeke supposed balancing The Get Down with his internship and spending most every waking moment with Shao or Mylene might have added some small strain to their relationship. Zeke made a mental note to spend more time with Ra starting tomorrow.

“So, he was asking about D and this guy and describing the way...l, uh, he was describing them but was talking about the way that they looked at each other with the same intensity that you have when you talk to someone. And then at the end said ‘I never mentioned Mylene by the way’.”

Zeke laughed, “Shit man, you didn’t tell him that we’ve been together for weeks?”

The two burst out in laughing fits. They kissed freely on the hood of the car, as they had in the couple of weeks since Shao kissed Zeke while they were preparing for the last battle. Zeke had spontaneously said something about unity and connection during one of their practices, as sometimes happens when a poet gets a freestyle opportunity. Shao couldn’t respond when Zeke asked his opinion, so he kissed him instead. They wanted to figure out some stuff before telling the crew. Zeke and Mylene were working through things, and it seemed that as much as she disliked Shao she was willing to let Zeke try this type of happiness too—as long as he didn’t take Zeke away or get him mixed up with Shao’s street life. 

For now, all was well. They laughed and kissed for a while, then went inside to come up with new beats and rhymes for group practice the next day.


	4. Rooftop Twilight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra and Dizzee share notes about their conversation and bond on the rooftop of the Kipling home.

Ra met up with Dizzee on the roof of the Kipling’s home. “I got Shao real close.” He sat on the edge of the roof, looking at the night skyline of Manhattan. 

Dizzee nodded serenely, moving to sit next to Ra. “I got my point across to Zeke but let him find the words.”

The two looked over the roof’s edge, the evening air refusing to let go of all the heat it collected during the day. “Let’s skip the next practice, give them some time to feel their connection” Dizzee suggested. 

Ra nodded. “What do you want to do instead? Are you going to meet Thor?” He pointedly didn’t look at Dizzee; there was something in his tone that Dizzee couldn’t place.

He looked at Ra, impressed he had figured it out and a bit unsure of Ra’s point. “Yeah, actually. We’re collaborating--.”

“Sure, ‘collaborating’.” Ra said, more resentful than he meant, looking right at Dizzee, swinging his legs off the edge.

“What? Ra, are you okay?” Dizzee watched his brother with concern.

“I’m fine. Go have your connection, find an offshoot team, just don’t forget about the fantastic four plus one.” Ra said quickly and all together. “I mean, don’t leave us behind while you explore the superpower. We can’t all travel through space.” He looked at Dizzee with more pain than Dizzee saw coming.

“I’m Pretty Dizzee D and my brothers know I’m down by law” he said to an unheard beat. Ra laughed, carefully holding the edge of the roof to make sure he didn’t fall off. A beat of silence passed as the brothers stared wistfully over the rooftop.

Ra said, maybe to the city, maybe to Dizzee, and maybe to himself for the first time, “Damn, it’s like I’m the only one on the crew without a boyfriend.”

“I mean, I know people and could probably set you up…” Dizzee said, processing the new information with one of his knowing smiles.

Ra stood up, "I don’t want to date an alien! I would rather know/meet/become a superhero.”

 

They laughed and then retreated into the family home, knowing that more conversations on the rooftop would come, probably starting tomorrow around twilight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone!


End file.
